In displays of liquid nitrogen, robots, laser beams and levitating steel, the College of Engineering hosted close to 500 Washoe County middle and high school students for Engineers Day, Thursday, April 16.

Engineers Day is a program intended to create excitement in engineering with younger students through interactive and informative demonstrations such as 3D printing, robotics demos and the University's popular earthquake engineering lab. One example of the unique exhibits on the tour was about how microorganisms experience swimming movements in watery environments by Professor Henry Fu. Students were able to experiment with different swimming strokes to see what motions work for propulsion at small scales.

"Engineers Day demonstrates engineering's wide range of applications that make it one of the most influential and rewarding professions today," Meg Fitzgerald, organizer of the event from the College of Engineering, said. "This event shows the realities of what can be accomplished if you become an engineer."

Students participated in a variety of workshops involving hands-on experiments led by the College of Engineering and Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering research students, faculty and staff.
Many engineering paths through the college were represented at the event, including mechanical, civil and environmental, electrical and biomedical, chemical and materials, and computer science engineering.

During the event students were led on tours of 19 laboratories. Leaders often explained the relevant applications of their demonstrations and students were encouraged to study engineering in college.

The University's College of Engineering has internationally and nationally acclaimed programs. The College has graduated more than 1,500 engineering students in the past five years.